Coming in our October issue: A close look at digital textbooks in the classroom as well as a piece on teaching about Islam. Rounding out the feature well: data-driven collaboration, which might help some librarians preserve their jobs. “Also,” writes Exec Editor Rick Margolis, “there’s a sweet feature on a librarian who realized that giving kids popular books to read (like the “Twilight” series) made more sense than just sticking to buy so-called high-quality children’s lit.”

And in tech: QR codes, the Kobo and Alex ereaders reviewed, and the debut of Richard Byrne, SLJ‘s new Cool Tools columnist.

OK some dish: They’re fighting debating over who will illustrate the December Best Books cover. Speaking of dish, the above shot, taken just now of the communal snack table, reveals the dietary habits of my LJ/SLJ colleagues. Consider bringing them an apple at the next conference (it’ll be our little secret).